ARTIST: DIANE WILLIAMSON
email: diane@pw.cx
Website: dianewilliamsonartist.com
Facebook: Diane Williamson Artist
Instagram: dianewilliamsonartist
STUDIES & OCCUPATION:I am a self taught painter, however I completed theDiploma
of Art and Design at Caulfield Institute of Technology (now Chisolm)a million years ago in the Graphic Art and Photography course.
As a result, I spent 17 years as a graphic artist in many advertising agencies specialising in packaging, labeling and corporate ID work.
I simultaneously worked as one of Melbourne’s top 3 photo retouchers in the wedding, child and glamour photography field for about 23 years (Pre computers.)
Wedding photographer for 7 years : Leadlight artist and teacher 10 years
Picture Framer 26 years: Face Painting and Body Artist 15 years
Art Teacher at 3 Community Houses
MEMBER: Founding Member of The Dare Contemporary Art Group.
Peninsula Studio Trail member currently.
AWARDS: I’ve sold many artworks and won a variety of painting awards in many exhibitions over the years, including winning the first Australian Body Art Awards, First in Flinders Pastel Prize and First in the Morning Sun Winery Annual Show and many
“Highly Commended” awards.
However, for me, my art is not about awards, but people’s appreciation and
understanding of my work. Also I want my work to ADD something special to someone’s life and open up their thoughts to new perspectives of life.
Far more important than awards or an “exhibitions entered” list is My Artist Statement, as this is what my work is about.
ARTIST STATEMENT:
If ARTISTS don’t bring the beauty and harmony of the world to our attention, WHO WILL?
I cannot remember ever wanting to do anything other than be an artist. I feel that my work comes from beyond my personal self, as ideas are not material or limited “things”. They just come to me without any focused decision to “think something up.” My art is about looking beyond the outward physical sense of things to see the spiritual qualities that material things represent to reveal significance. My paintings usually appear in my mind, completed in an instant; I do not “think them up” or struggle with “mental blocks.” I create what is given to me. I mentally ‘have a good look at’ and navigate the image in my thought for a week or so, even deciding which brushes and techniques I will use. Then I copy the painting from my thought onto the canvas quite quickly, (but spend a lot of time on composition and final details). While painting I am completely absorbed thinking about harmony and the unity of the universe but I also like a dynamic image. Recently I have been interested in moving away from the replication of material things to an abstract depiction of the essence of a thing...music for example…see “SOMETHING NEW” on my website. I aim, with my art, to uplift the public consciousness to a higher level of awareness of the good and the beautiful in the world. | 
